Getting it Back

I could have have also called this post "Fast Track," or "Kick Start," or maybe even "Force Feed," and each alternative would have been just as appropriate.  For the week of 30 May to 5 June - my first week of serious running after two months of rest and sporadic workouts - I logged a total of 92 Kilometers to surpass my original target of 82 Kilometers. Now, I can confidently say that I am back. Boy, I am SO back. My fitness level is close to where I would like it to be (or, at the very least, is somewhere in the vicinity of where it was before I went on break).  My lungs, knees, and feet apparently still remember how to perform for hours upon hours.  In a nutshell, it's all good.

This was how the week went:

Monday, 30 May: My first day back at work. 10-kilometer run completed in 1:12:52 at an average pace of 7:16 mins/km. Splits were 7:59, 7:29, 7:02, 6:46, 6:51, 7:23, 7:21, 7:18, 7:43, and 6:44. Not bad.

Tuesday, 31 May: 10-Kilometer run completed in 1:19:20 at an average pace of 7:51 mins/km. Splits were 8:03, 7:23, 7:35, 7:32, 7:32, 7:44, 7:42, 7:51, 8:13, and 8:37.  Slow but sure. 

Wednesday, 1 June: 10-Kilometer run completed in 1:14:28 at an average pace of 7:26 mins/km. Splits were 8:36, 6:57, 7:28, 7:17, 7:09, 7:18, 7:40, 7:12, 7:14, and 7:35.  Uhm, what does Fartlek mean?

Thursday, 2 June: 15-Kilometer run completed in 2:05:00 at an average pace of 8:18 mins/km. Splits were 8:01, 7:23, 7:09, 7:13, 8:28, 7:54, 7:41, 6:30, 6:14, 6:54, 9:47, 10:09, 10:24, 9:55, and 10:42. This was my longest run since the Mayon 360 50-Miler back in April.  I was a wreck after this run and I actually ended up walking the last five kilometers. Not disheartening at all, because my goal was simply to spend at least two hours on my feet. Mission accomplished.

Friday, 3 June: 10-Kilometer run completed in 1:14:28 at an average pace of 7:26 mins/km. Splits were 8:33, 7:25, 7:35, 7:16, 7:12, 7:37, 7:17, 7:09, 7:17, and 8:19. Same old, same old.

Saturday, 4 June: Rest day. Loaded up on carbs - including beer(!?!) - for the following day's LSD run. Registered for the PAU Fort Magsaysay 60K Ultra (set for July 25 - four days after I turn 36!).

Sunday, 5 June:  The big one. I went on a long run with my friend Din Cordero. Din recently completed his first full marathon at theTBR Dream Marathon, is preparing for his first ultra (the Nuvali Trail 50k during the last week of June), and is eyeing BDM 102 next year. This dude trains like a horse and his improvement has been rapid and remarkable. A minimalist runner, he promptly hit a sub-5 at TBR in his VFF Bikila. This time around, he tried out his new VFF trail running shoes (sorry, forgot the model's name). We started at 2 pm to get some heat training in. The route spanned my BDM secret training ground:  Valle Verde 2 - St.Martin/ULTRA - Julia Vargas - Tiendesitas - C-5 - Green Meadows - Temple Drive - Corinthians/EDSA Monument - White Plains - Ateneo Campus - Katipunan - UP Campus - back. Very challenging, rolling route that featured a lot of inclines from end to end. We did it Galloway-style and used a 20:5 run-walk ratio, the same ratio that I used for Mayon (where I finished 80 kilometers in 12:45). We covered a grand total of close to 37 kilometers in 5:02:00 at an average pace of 8:18, inclusive of walk breaks. For the run segments, we averaged 7:00 to 7:30 mins/km. We flirted with the idea of extending the run to 40 kilometers but ended up ditching the plan eventually, because it was already getting late. Still, this was easily Din's longest training run to date.

After our run, Din immediately BBMed his wife Carrie to report: mission accomplished. I told him that, what he should instead tell Carrie is this: Mission accomplished, with still a lot left in the tank.  That was exactly how I felt. Yes, I was tired and my legs were sore, but I felt like I could have gone for maybe seven to 10 kilometers more but likely at a reduced pace. In short, the run was a success. I was on my feet for five hours (six if we include the pit stops), and I finished without any issues. I did suffer a splitting headache during the latter part of the run (which might have been hunger-induced), but other than that, it was all good. I wanted to jump start my training, and after the week that was, I was able to do just that.

Tonight after work, I will go on a very easy 5-kilometer recovery run. The goal for the week is a scaled-down 60 to 65 kilometers, with a 20-kilometer run at LSD pace on Sunday. It is comforting to know that after two months of very little activity, I did not give back whatever gains I realized during the course of my BDM and Mayon training. At the risk of sounding cocky, I will dare say that maybe I have already gotten to a point where I can "turn it on" when I have to, when I want to. And that, my friends, is a sign of progress.

The miles are piling up and the words are flowing. Oh, yes. I am so back.